According to a recent technology study by National Public Radio’s Elise Hu in All Tech Considered, three of the top 20 most tweeted-about events ever occurred on February 3, 2013—Super Bowl Sunday. Ironically, only one of those events actually involved the football game itself, the 108-yard kickoff-return by the Baltimore Ravens’ Jacoby Jones, who set a post-season NFL record with the play. Jones’ touchdown, however, was only the third most tweeted-about event, recording 185,000 tweets per minute. Hu’s study uses statistics found publicly on Twitter’s blog page, calculating tweets per minute, and categorizing them according to tags or topics. Now, Twitter can measure just what all the hype was about while it is still happening. Even though it occurred at the Superbowl, the most tweeted event of all-time, however, had nothing to do with football. Beyonce’s jaw-dropping half-time performance, which included surprise appearances by former group members Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams of Destiny’s Child, became the most tweeted-about event of all-time netting a record 268,000 tweets per minute. In fact, the show was so electrifying that the 22-minute power outage which followed Beyonce’s performance at the Superdome in New Orleans, La., became the second most tweeted-about event ever, receiving 231,500 tweets per minute. When asked her opinion of Twitter and social media in general, Hayley Bleazard, a junior biology major from Cedar City, Utah, said, “I have a twitter. I don’t use it very often though… usually out of boredom.” Bleazard sometimes uses her twitter account to tweet about personal thoughts and comments but also enjoys social media for its interactive approach to life’s daily routines. “The show ‘Pretty Little Liars’ has hashtags that pop up on the screen for you to comment about. it makes watching the show more interesting for me. But that’s about it. I do think social media can be useful but [it] can also be a big downfall for a lot of people.” Hu notes that only two of the top 10 events were not related to sports or entertainment, but instead were political events–presidential debates. The first debate of the campaign season held in Denver, Colo., showed a well-prepared Republican candidate Gov. Mitt Romney taking a powerful stance against President Obama back on Oct. 3, 2012. This highly-anticipated debate shocked the public and gave possible indications of the likelihood of the election outcome. It became the fourth most tweeted-about event at 158,690 tweets per minute. Other notable events in the Top 20 included; the Miami Heat winning the NBA finals in Game 7 over the San Antonio Spurs— it ranked a fifth all-time with 150,00 tweets per minute, The Spice Girls’ performance at the London Olympics 2012 ranked 7th with 110,000 tweets per minute, and the release of “Sharknado”, a Sci-Fi horror film that became an instant cult-classic basically overnight, landed the final spot at #20 on the chart with just over 5,000 tweets per minute. Twitter, and other forms of social media like Facebook and Vine, are transcending the bounds of public communication. Now, with the millions of users worldwide, events can be detailed and compared to one another to determine just how much buzz is circulating about the blogosphere. Twitter and other social medias can do things TV rating cannot provide- immediate responses. While the statistics regarding these events seem rather meaningless, they help paint a picture as to what really attracts to the public. “Numbers become more meaningful when you can compare two similar events,” said Simon Rogers, Data editor for Twitter on the company’s blog. Sporting events, award ceremonies, even tragedies like the Boston Marathon Bombings, can be instantly documented and shared from the insider perspective. Social media can now see just how significant events really are to the pop-culture hungry, mainstream demographics of the world. People even turn to social media as their source for information, often hearing of breaking news through Twitter before any other news source. And it makes perfect sense—millions and millions of people are active twitter users. “Every two and a half days, a billion Tweets are sent. Put another way, that’s three for every man, woman and child in the United States — or five for everyone in Brazil,” reported Rogers.Top 15 events people tweeted about in the last year:1. Beyonce’s 2013 Super Bowl performance2. 22-minute long Superbowl blackout3. Jacoby Jones 108-yard Kickoff return in Superbowl4. The Denver Presidential Debate in October 20125. 2013 NBA final game between Miami & San Antonio6. 2013 Grammy Awards 7. 2012 Olympics closing ceremonies8. Town Hall Debate October 20129. “Argo” wins best picture at 2013 Oscars10. Usain Bolt wins 200m Gold at 2012 Olympics11. Vice presidential debate October 201212. Democratic National 2012 Convention 13. Golden Globes 201314. Republican National 2012 Convention15. 2012 State of the Union Address

Twitter has taken a new approach to handling cyber-bullying by expanding features to target hacking and impersonations. According to Buzzfeed, Twitter is polling users asking if any have ever experienced abuse on any social network, including Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Twitter. According to CNET, Dick Costolo, CEO of Twitter, released a statement in early February saying, the company hasn't been good "at dealing with abuse and trolls on the platform ... for years. It’s not a secret and the rest of the world talks about it every day. We lose core user after core user by not addressing simple trolling issues that they face every day.” Costolo made it clear that Twitter struggles with controlling the issues of abuse and the company is well aware of it. Gabby Sabalones, a senior majoring in international cultural studies from Indiana, explained her thoughts on cyber-bullying: “I just found out recently that this has become a problem. I think it is sad. Something about the Internet is that it makes it so you think that nobody knows who you are; it takes away your face and so somehow in our minds it takes away responsibility too. The things people say on comments on YouTube is horrible because they are real people.”Other students find it interesting as to why Twitter is starting to attempt to take control of the situation. Cambria Graves, a sophomore majoring in international cultural studies from Colorado, said, “I don’t know if [Twitter] can do anything about it because people are mean in general but, I think it is something important to know because it is their site that people are posting these things on. I don’t know if they can do anything about it, but just knowing what is going on and the extent of the bullying is important.” Shenia Jacobo, a senior majoring in international cultural studies from Arizona, agrees with Graves. Jacobo said, “You can’t have social media without cyber-bullying. It only makes sense though, because people bully and say hurtful things against each other on Twitter and other social media [sites]. By Twitter doing this, they are taking the issue and trying to figure out how they can work it out and be a part of the solution. I am sure they are well aware that their users abuse each other.” Uploaded March 10, 2015

Culture, family history and healing from emotional trauma are the center of the lives of the Garcia family. Joshua Garcia is an alumnus from Utah and his wife, Hailala Garcia, is a junior from Kahuku majoring in hospitality and tourism management. After Joshua Garcia graduated from BYU–Hawaii in 2012 with a degree in university studies and exercise and sports science, he said their family felt prompted to move back to Laie after living in Utah. Shortly after returning, the couple started their projects Remember and Remove My Baggage to help people preserve culture and deal with emotional trauma.

The world is reacting to the deadly attacks that occurred in Paris on Nov. 13. More than 130 people have died from wounds of that day suicide bombers and shooters attacked bystanders at France’s national soccer stadium, cafés, restaurants, and a concert hall.

Hundreds of runners participated in the Foam Glow Race 5K Run in Kapolei, students who participated described the experience as both fun and rewarding. The money contributed by the students was dedicated in behalf of childhood cancer, and the purpose of the event was to distribute fundraising to local communities, according to its website.

Tension rose near the U.S.-Mexico border as a caravan of migrants from Latin America in the thousands planned to seek asylum in the United States, reported the Associated Press. Students said they may understand why immigrants want to migrate for a better life, but students from Mexico said if people worked hard, they can create their own opportunity at home.

Writer Travis Bradberry compiled a list of 10 characteristics that make a person unlikeable in his article “Unmistakable Habits of Unlikeable People,” which he published on LinkedIn. “Too many people succumb to the mistaken belief that being likeable comes from natural, unteachable traits that belong only to a lucky few,” he writes. “In reality, being likeable is under your control, and it’s a matter of emotional intelligence.”

DropPoint is an adventure app and blog meant to challenge students to get outdoors with incentives like gift cards and coupons, according to Jordan Taylor, founder and app developer.

More than 137 students and community members attended workshops at the 8th annual International Institute of Professional Protocols to learn the importance of communication and self-image, and how to dress professionally and present with confidence.